Saturday, July 11, 2009

Today, Americans for Limited Government would like to bring your attention to another Barack Obama nomination that deserves your scorn: Robert Groves for the U.S. Census Bureau.

Please call your representatives in the Senate and tell them to not to invoke cloture on this critical nominee unless and until both he and White House confirm—in writing—that Mr. Groves will not be directed by President Obama to hire ACORN employees to count the 2010 Census, nor to use any statistical adjustments or sampling in counting the Census. Thus far the Administration and Mr. Groves have refused to give any response at all in writing.

This is unacceptable.

Senator David Vitter has courageously placed a hold on this nominee but now he needs your help to encourage his colleagues not vote in favor of cloture until the White House and Mr. Groves give the requested information in writing. The American people have a right to know if Barack Obama intends on corrupting the Census or not.

If Mr. Groves has nothing to hide, he and Barack Obama should say so in writing, as Mr. Vitter has requested. Harry Reid is threatening a cloture vote on Mr. Groves' nomination on Monday, which means there is no time to lose. The switchboard number is (202) 224-3121.

In today's Liberty Action Report, the White House refuses to confirm in writing that it will not direct Robert Groves to hire ACORN employees, the Hot Earthers can't seem to make up their mind about what is actually happening to the climate, and the Blue Dogs may not want to draw straws to see who votes for the ObamaCare bill. Plus, Senator Orrin Hatch professes his belief in "limited" government.

Today, Charles Franz of Sudan, Texas writes in part, "The people of Liberty Action must take back our country and get a majority in the house and senate this next year. We cannot wait until 2012 to get this stopped. We need McCain to get on national T.V. and tell the people that Palin did nothing but help his campaign… Sarah Palin is the only one with the spirit to change Washington... If you run her down we will eat you up. The Republicans have a bad habit of being nice and letting the opposition run over them. It is time to change, get tough. McCain would have won last year if he and the Republicans would have stood up and defended Palin."

Thanks, Charles. I'm not sure that Sarah Palin needs John McCain to be her defender. She does a pretty good job of that herself!

Editorial: Tell the Senate to Say NO to Robert Groves and ACORN Corruption!

Barack Obama -- the former attorney for the corrupt Association of Community Organization and Reform Now (ACORN) -- has now nominated for Census Bureau czar a man who (perhaps not surprisingly) refuses to rule out paying ACORN lieutenants tens of millions of tax dollars to, of all things, count the number of Americans who should receive federally funded hand-outs and be allowed to vote.

Now, remember, this is the very same ACORN group that is currently under investigation for committing electoral fraud in 12 states during the most recent election cycle alone, including Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. And it's the same group whose malfeasance dates back at least to 1998, when its Project Vote contractor was arrested in Arkansas for falsifying 400 voter registration cards.

In King County, Washington, in 2008, elections officials were forced to remove 1,762 voter registrations submitted by ACORN. In Delaware County, Pennsylvania, nearly 1,200 fraudulent voter registrations were submitted by ACORN. In Cleveland, Ohio, ACORN registered one voter 77 times. And in Chicago, 10,000 false registrations were submitted.

No wonder Chicago is Barack Obama's kind of town. Clearly, his kind of people tally the votes there. Which may explain why in 2008, his presidential campaign paid ACORN operatives a whopping $800,000 to register voters. And why Investor's Business Journal called Mr. Obama "ACORN's Senator."

In view of all this, it is little wonder that on earlier this year, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) asked Obama Census Czar nominee Robert Groves and the White House for a firm commitment that he would not hire ACORN operatives to count the U.S. populace by asking them to confirm it in writing. And it is even less wonder that Mr. Vitter has now put a hold on the Groves' nomination, since Mr. Groves and the White House have thus far refused to extend the Senator even the courtesy of a response, let alone a commitment to protect the sanctity of the census from the voraciously corrupt ACORN lieutenants.

What is at stake in this situation is much more than a mere uneven headcount; it is the corruption of the voting process itself. If ACORN is allowed to skew its census count the way it has repeatedly skewed its voter registrations, key decisions as to where and how federal funds are distributed will be at stake. And the redrawing of congressional boundaries will be at the mercy of ACORN operatives' decisions as to whom they wish to count and whom they don't.

If ACORN lieutenants decide to lose a few hundred thousand citizens in districts where Republicans are strong – such as the South and West -- those voters could be deprived of congressional representation. And if they decide to add on a few hundred thousand in areas where Democrats dominate – such as major urban areas – those cities could find themselves with additional votes in the halls of Congress.

In short, to put it bluntly: if ACORN is allowed to corrupt the census as it has, time and again, corrupted voter registration, the fragile fabric of democracy could be forever destroyed.That's what is at stake. And that's why Americans from all walks of life, from either party, and from every area of the country must support the Vitter hold on Robert Groves.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has threatened to invoke a cloture vote Monday morning to break Mr. Vitter's hold on Mr. Groves. It's time to tell the members of the Senate in no uncertain terms: "If Robert Groves and the White House won't commit to keeping ACORN away from the census count, we want him kept away from the Census Bureau." The Senate switchboard number is 202-225-3121.

As well they should, a group that claims that their "top priority will be to refocus Congress on truly balancing the budget and ridding taxpayers of the burden the national debt places on them."

Congressman Ross' statement is encouraging, but it needs to be backed up by action to defeat any proposal that threatens to bankrupt the nation by creating another unsustainable entitlement.

With the national debt now soaring above $11.4 trillion, unfunded liabilities in Medicare and Social Security totaling $104 trillion, a proposed annual budget of $3.6 trillion, and a projected deficit of $1.8 trillion this year alone, a vote in favor of a trillion dollar government-run health care plan would decidedly be against Blue Dog, fiscal conservative principles.

And with legislation moving through Congress at a frightening speed this year—trillion dollar "stimulus," carbon energy taxes, nearly a $4 trillion dollar budget, and now healthcare—with only 178 House Republicans, the only chance at saving privately-provided health options will be if Democrats vote against their leadership, and against this legislation.

For, unless the users of health care defend what is rightly theirs, the so-called public "option" will take over the entire system, devouring all other options.

What's worse is the exact details are not yet publicly known of the plan. And it is moving swiftly: House Democrat leaders plan on unveiling it today, and committee votes are expected as early as next week.

Only there's just one small problem. They have not even shown it to their Blue Dog colleagues yet.

"We've just got a lot of questions and the top of the list would be how to pay for it," said Congressman Marion Berry (AR-CD1). That, of course, is an excellent question, since the only way to pay for any new spending programs with the country in such a steep deficit will be to borrow more cash from overseas, raise taxes, or print more dollars.

And in all of the above financing alternatives, the American people will wind up paying more. Borrowing too much leads to higher interest rates as U.S. debt becomes less attractive of an investment. Raising taxes obviously takes more money away from Americans to purchase their own health options. And firing up the printing presses leads to inflation, which will mean higher prices on just about everything, including health care, thus fueling the bottom line of whatever proposal is enacted.But that may not even be the worst of it. An even more fundamental question to be answered about the so-called public "option" is: Who will qualify?

If it is truly to be an option for all Americans, then in principle everyone would qualify. And if that's the case, say goodbye to private health care, as everyone starts lining up for government freebies.

Advocates of the public "option" claim that it will be "cheaper" than private care. That they want to cut health care costs—which in reality means price controls that unfortunately always lead to shortages. It will also put private insurers who attempt to compete out of business, since they cannot borrow trillions of dollars to stay in the black.

As a result, even if government does not issue free health care outright, and just heavily subsidizes individuals and employers to switch to the government plan, the net effect will still be a state-run monopoly that crowds out private options, long lines at the doctor's office, and a declining quality of care as doctors are forced to take pay cuts and yet work even longer hours.So, the Blue Dog Democrats really ought to consider the 201.7 million American people who like the quality of their privately-provided health care that is unparalleled anywhere in the world. Because they do not need "more time" to consider this plan.

They need to know that there's somebody in Congress who is going to fight to help them keep their options.

ALG Editor's Note: Being consistent in one's beliefs and actions is nearly impossible. And for elected officials, the same is true with regards to the core principle of limited government. For, if the American people are ever to regain control over their rogue government, everyone must insist that words and deeds match up—we are past the time when we can accept pledges of devotion to liberty, we must demand actions in the cause of liberty.

Then on Tuesday, he rashly benched his "limited government" pitch during an all-out blitz against college football's Bowl Championship Series.

Sen. Hatch, fortunately the only lawmaker present during much of a wasted two-hour Judiciary Committee hearing, expressed severe frustration over the exclusion of the Utah Utes — unbeaten champions of the Mountain West Conference — from last season's BCS national-title game: "Frankly there is an arrogance about the BCS that just drives me nuts."

Sen. Hatch touted "a fairly strong antitrust case" against the BCS for operating an "illegal monopoly" of six conferences to the detriment of other leagues, including the Mountain West. University of Utah President Michael Young, in testimony Tuesday, echoed Sen. Hatch, declaring: "Championships should be decided by competition, not conspiracy."

OK, so many sports fans, including President Barack Obama, detect flaws in the BCS. That doesn't mean the fixes for it should come from Washington — or a federal court.

Anyway, the plucky Utes' upset victory over Alabama in last season's Sugar Bowl doesn't prove that they could have gone unbeaten in a BCS league. Despite ample investments of financial resources and fervent rooting, our own Clemson Tigers (in the BCS member Atlantic Coast Conference) and South Carolina Gamecocks (in the BCS member Southeastern Conference) have combined for a mediocre 24-24 record in league play over the last three seasons.

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